Silverley, Cambridgeshire

Technically there is no All Saints or Silverley - the village having disappeared (to such an extent that it's location is unknown but presumably somewhere near this last remnant) - and the church was being used as a barn by 1627; now all that remains is this crumbling tower.

I'd seen this remnant's entry on the excellent Cambridgeshire Churches website but was unprepared for the impact it makes. To be fair I had no idea that I was going to see it as it wasn't on the itinerary but stopping at a T junction on the way to Dalham there it was in a wood opposite.

It's extraordinarily atmospheric, although I have to say that I didn't get the heebiejeebies or any sense of doom but rather a fascination with the lost history of the people who lived, worshiped, married, baptised their children, died and were buried here - who were they and why did they upsticks and abandon their village? Oh God I feel another obsession coming on.

ALL SAINTS. All that remains is the ruinous tower in a thick wood. Eminently picturesque in its decay. The interior especially in fine, with the winding of the spiral stair ripped open. 

Mee missed or ignored it.

Flickr.